Asia, Australia, and Africa

News : Asia, Australia, and Africa

THE trade and industry department is to hold talks today on the possibility of extending quotas on Chinese clothing and textile imports, but retailers, who are affected most, will be excluded. (AllAfrica)

MTN has sent a team of engineers to China to assess cellphone handsets that can retail for about $10, which it believes is crucial if cellular services are to spread throughout Africa. (AllAfrica)

The Assistant Foreign Minister of Public Affairs, Mr. Josephus M. Gray, over the weekend returned home from the People's Republic of China where he led a two-man delegation that participated in a two-week young Diploma's program held in Beijing. (AllAfrica)

INTERNATIONAL cricket action returns to Harare Sports Club this morning as Zimbabwe engage Sri Lanka in the opening game of a five-match ODI series, which, however, looks set to be hampered by bad weather. (AllAfrica)

As Nigeria awaits arrival of the President of the Chinese China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), Mr. Wang Haibo, the company that manufactured and launched the Nigerian Satellite in orbit on Friday, it has been revealed that another $500 million contract awarded for the construction of NigComsat 2 and 3 is yet to take off. (AllAfrica)

THE First Lady, Janet Museveni, on Tuesday held talks with the visiting chief minister of Gujarati city in India, Modi Narendra. (AllAfrica)

SA's Test cricket opening partnership continues to go from strength to strength, with Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie passing the 50-run mark for the 10th Test in succession -world record - on the first day of the first cricket Test against Bangladesh yesterday. (AllAfrica)

The Republic of Vietnam intends to expand the cooperation in the fields of industry, trade, investment and agriculture. (AllAfrica)

The Mozambican and Chinese governments signed three agreements in Maputo on Tuesday, under which China is to provide a total of 43 million dollars in loan and grant finance. (AllAfrica)

The N40 billion Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) designed, developed, manufactured and launched by the Chinese is the second Chinese-made satellite to fail in orbit in two years. (AllAfrica)

TAT2 - a drug extracted from Astragalus membranaceus a plant used in Chinese medicine is helping immune cells fight HIV and is also raising the possibility of slowing the ageing process in other parts of the human body. (AllAfrica)

A 23-member delegation of Bulawayo business people who attended the recent 23rd Jakarta International Expo in Indonesia clinched lucrative business deals worth US$6 billion. (AllAfrica)

Angolan head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, Monday in Luanda received in audience the outgoing Vietnamese ambassador to Angola, Nguyen Dinh, who expressed his country's interest to have cooperation between the two countries reinforced. (AllAfrica)

Nigeria's desire for maximum match point over South Korea was wasted yesterday following the walkover awarded against Bomo Kighiga by Tournament Director for late arrival at match venue for the commencement of Round Four. (AllAfrica)

According to sources from the office of the director of sports, the director was still waiting on the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) to submit their report on the U-20 trip to Malaysia. (AllAfrica)

AIRPORTS Company SA (Acsa ) believes its 10% stake in India's busiest airport, Mumbai International Airport, will continue to provide a healthy return on investment despite a sharp slowdown in that country's air travel. (AllAfrica)

THE chief minister of Gurajarat in India, Narendra Modi, arrived in Uganda yesterday with a delegation to look at investment opportunities. (AllAfrica)

THE glamour of silk was displayed by the Indian community, with some glittering under the dim lit room. (AllAfrica)

Nigeria can attain greatness by nurturing and sustaining her relationship with Japan, the land of the rising sun. Stanley Udi periscopes the activities of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). (AllAfrica)

Africa's sole representative at the weekend's Group of 20 (G20) summit of world leaders, South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe, says reforms agreed on at the summit would require better representation for the continent in the international financial system. (AllAfrica)

Construction of the Arusha-Namanga road which supposedly started in July this year is already facing some hitches which may delay completion of the project scheduled for July 2011. (AllAfrica)

Nineteen students and their three teachers from China's South Island recently devoted time out of their vacation to repair and give Linde orphans school at Maji ya Chai, Arumeru district a facelift. (AllAfrica)

The government of Japan yesterday handed over 9,600 metric tons of wheat worth 5.01 million USD to the Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise (EGTE) in its Food Aid Scheme grant. (AllAfrica)

Pearl Market on Silk Street in Beijing , the capital of China is a big sprawling facility with thousands of shops dealing in various types of goods. (AllAfrica)

Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), has raised alarm over the systematic and deliberate destruction of the Nigerian textile industry and economy by unscrupulous Chinese textile exporters and called on the Federal government to engage the Chinese government over the matter. (AllAfrica)

UNICEF, in partnership with the government of Japan, has begun distributing 230,000 insecticide treated mosquito nets in Lango region. (AllAfrica)

Armed Somali pirates have hijacked a Chinese ship on Somali coast near Kenya on later on Thursday, according to residents. (AllAfrica)

FIVE tobacco farmers contracted to Tina Ze Tobacco Company left for China at the weekend on a mission to interact with fellow farmers and learn how to improve and increase tobacco production in Zimbabwe. (AllAfrica)

HEADING to Malaysia via Singapore recently, I encountered much introspection in the region concerning the treatment of foreign workers. (AllAfrica)

DESPITE throwing heaps of money at the problem, so far there's no sign that the US and Europe can avert recession, which could lead to depression. (AllAfrica)

Reforms to the international financial system agreed on at the summit of leaders of the G20 grouping of countries would entail far better representation for African countries in the international financial institutions than is currently the case, said South African President Kgalema Motlanthe in this statement issued after the summit. (AllAfrica)